Inxile Asks Torment Backers To Vote On Combat System

Torment: Tides of Numenera backers have been given the opportunity to vote for either a real-time or turn-based combat system in the game.

You probably already know this if you're the sort of person who would back Torment: Tides of Numenera, but just to ensure there's no confusion, let me lay it out for you: Infinity Engine - Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment - and Dragon Age games feature "real-time with pause" combat, meaning that battles unfold in real-time but can be paused at any time to evaluate the situation or issue new orders. Others, like the first two Fallouts, Temple of Elemental Evil and a lot of tactical combat simulators like XCom, are turn-based: One of your guys moves, then one of his guys moves, then it's back to your guys, and so forth.

This is relevant because inXile Entertainment is now seeking input on which of those two systems it will use in Torment: Tides of Numenera. The latest Kickstarter update asks backers to vote for one of the two, or declare their indifference, on the Torment forums. The vote is "advisory only," the update warns, so the team will ultimately do whatever it wants, but you have to assume that if there's an overwhelming majority of support for one or the other, that's the way it will go.

It is pretty incredible that the vote for the Torment combat system is so damn close! A near 1% deviation.— Brian Fargo (@BrianFargo) November 22, 2013

It seems unlikely to happen, based on a recent tweet by inXile boss Brian Fargo, but if there is a big majority my hope is that it opts for the "real-time with pause" choice, or at the very least that the game takes steps to ensure that battles don't get bogged down in the tedium of issuing the same order, over and over. Maybe I'm lazy, or just spoiled by past experience, but sometimes it's nice to be able to say, "You guys take care of this and call me if there's a real problem."

A more detailed breakdown of how the two combat system would work in Torment: Tides of Numenera is available in the previous Kickstarter update, posted earlier this month.